The Frog Prince
by Clea Person
Summary: Prince Ivan was bound to marry a little frog, but then it turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise.  AU


Title: The Prince frog  
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Ivan Braginski x Wang Yao (RussiaxChina)  
Rating: K  
Warnings: Crack and AU, nothing historical, only fairy tale  
Notes: Inspired in a Russian Fairytale, for a competition. I may have changed little bits of the original tale.  
Summary: Prince Ivan was bound to marry a little frog, but then it turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise.

The Prince Frog

Long time ago, in a kingdom in Russia, three siblings lived, happily with their father king. Their names were Katyusha the oldest, Ivan the middle one and Natalia, the youngest. The king was already an old man, and so he wanted each one of them to get married in order to take his place. But their marriage would be different; it would be decided by the fate of an arrow. Their father had order each one them to throw an arrow, and the maiden or chevalier that would bring it for them, would be the one they would marry with. When Katyusha threw her arrow it had hit a small tree and under it a young prince called Mathew was resting, he was then the one to bring it for her. The second one to throw an arrow had been Natalia, and hers had hit a wooden barrel, which a young knight called Eduard was carrying, he then brought it for her. And for last, Ivan threw his arrow, but his luck wasn't the same as his sisters, and his arrow fell on a lake, for day no one had returned with his arrow, until one day, a small little frog was carrying it on its mouth. Ivan was horrified with his situation, he tossed and turned, complaining how unfair it was for him, how he deserved a second chance, after all how could he marry a frog? How was he supposed to have children with a frog? But the frog had talked a very clear message, in front of the court and the kingdom, telling the young prince to calm down, that everything would turn out as Ivan had always wished for, the little frog would prove to be worth its place beside the young Prince. Reluctant the man didn't believe the frog, casting it away, he didn't need any proves from a simple frog, he knew the frog would never be able to do anything. The little animal, though, was decided to commit, for it was already in love with the young prince and it would do what it would take to have him.

A week later, the king and their father gave to the partners of his children a simple task, to cook for him a nice piece of bread and a meatloaf, so the King would see, which of the promised ones, was indeed the best to take a place as the future one on the throne. The king would be able to see by his own eyes if the one was responsible enough, and if it had good abilities. Both the knight and Prince didn't know how to cook, they found themselves in a pretty hard task, so the only option they had was to spy on the frog to see how to cook anything decently. The little frog jumped slowly toward the lake, the small jumps taking it farther and farther away, and when arrived, under the power of the bright moon, the little animal ripped the skin off, a cloud of white smoke surrounded the spot, and from it a young and beautiful man walked off. He had long brown hair, pulled up on a gorgeous ponytail; his eyes were golden, matching the details on his vests, long just like a beautiful princess. His name was Yao, and he belonged to the family of the lake, his long journey as brought him to this palace, where he would spend the days looking at Ivan, unable to catch his attention on that mediocre form. He had been cursed, and only when he would be able to make someone fall in love with him and give him a passionate kiss on his frog form, he would be set free from his curse to become again a human. Finally a chance came along, when Yao saw the arrow so close to himself, he wouldn't let it escape, he has been watching Ivan for quite a while, and he really was found of that man. The Prince and Knight were surprised to see how the frog had changed into a beautiful man, but without much fuss they followed along, always spying on the other, watching all the details of the bread and meat preparation. Yao then prepared the dough and placed it immediately on the fire, and the meat, had a simple seasoning and also, was preparing on the fire. Both knight and prince took all the possible notes of what just happen, and they prepared the meal the exact same way. When Yao knew he wasn't being watched anymore, he took both the dough and the meat from the fire, and prepared it nicely. He knew he was being watched, therefore, he played a sneaky trick on both of them.

When the meal was ready, Yao took it to Ivan's room, the prince frog left the meal over a table, holding a letter on his hand, slowly he walked toward the bed, where prince Ivan was sound asleep, Yao smiled watching the calm expression on the Prince's face, a hint of blush grew on his own face as he found himself so happy watching the other sleep. Leaning down, Yao felt the warmth from the other's face, and left the letter gently near the bed.

On the next morning, Ivan woke to find both letter and meal on his room, he knew what he had to do, and even though he wasn't pleased that a simple frog was able to cook a delicious meal, he took it to his father anyway. Both Ivan's sisters had with them too the prepared meals, though, their breads were black, and the meat wasn't as delicious as Ivan's.

The king, tasted all the dishes, and was rather surprised and happy on how the best dish, was Ivan's, which was absolutely delicious too. Ivan started thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad, to have a frog for a wife. It would be lovely to have someone to make him delicious meals, though Prince Ivan still wanted someone to love and old, to kiss and touch. It would be strange to do that to a frog.

Their father the King, then thought it was time for a ball. So all the promised ones could show how good they were at dancing and courting. And this was when Ivan really got concerned. A frog… a pathetic frog on a ball. It would be a perfect disaster. Both the Prince and Knight felt very confident on the next task, and the little frog didn't show any sort of emotion to it. He just gently spoke to Ivan again not to worry, he would handle everything. Ivan had no other choice but trust the little frog.

And so it was, the night of the ball was there and Ivan was on the ballroom together with his sisters and father. Katyusha and Natalia already being courted by their promised ones, and Ivan lost in the middle of all the people, wondering where the little frog was. And then Yao's name was announced, and everyone froze in admiration, watching the frog Prince going down the stairs with his best vests. Again the little frog had waited for the moon to rise, peeling off his skin to be on his true form. Ivan knew that was the little frog, he knew the moment that man walked in and laid his eyes on Ivan. The little Russian prince, for the first time, was truly happy, his face held an enormous smile, of so happy he was.

Through the night, the Prince frog collected bones of the food over the table, and cups filled with water on his sleeves. The other two promised ones, thinking that they didn't want to lose again for that frog, did the same, wondering which kind of courting that was.

The moment to dance had arrived, and Ivan held Yao happily on his arms. They spin and spin around and from the Frog Prince's sleeves, birds of many colors flew, sparkles and little colors spread in the air, and after that, from his sleeves, water with many colors enlighten the mood. Everyone was stunned, amazed by that mysterious power. The king was clapping his hands, amazed by that courting and dancing. That frog was indeed perfect for his son. After Ivan and Yao had danced it was his sister's turn. When both couples started dancing, bones and cups flew all over the room, spreading chaos and leaving both prince and knight very embarrassed. The king soon ended the ceremony, but for Yao and Ivan it was only the beginning of the night. Both of them ran to the garden, and there Yao told his story to Ivan. How he had been cursed to live as a frog, if he didn't find anyone to love him for what it was, how he only on nights with the moon high on the sky, could peal his skin off and act like a normal human.

With that Ivan didn't wait another moment; he burned the skin, which the prince frog had peeled off, hoping that it would keep him as a human forever. But the young prince was too impatient and instead of assuring Yao's life as a human again. When Yao stopped him, it was too late, he had returned to his frog shape. He explained to the young prince how it would be impossible now, if the Prince really loved him, he would have to look for him on the lake of a far land. Then, Yao disappeared from the young Prince's life.

For one whole year no one knew anything about the frog prince, there was nothing, no clues at all. Prince Ivan had become desperate in his loneliness and so he begged to the king to let him travel in order to rescue the one he loved and wanted. Touched, the king gave him permission to leave the kingdom in search for the one he loved. For some time, Ivan wondered across the lakes of far kingdoms in search for Yao, until one day he found a Frog resembling his Yao. The frog's name was Kiku and he was one of Yao's brothers. Calmly the little frog had explained to him that he was not Yao, but if he walked a bit farther away, he would find someone who knew where Yao was.

Ivan walked and walked, never giving up on the one who loved him so much, proving himself to also love Yao as much. After a while, he found another frog, its name was Yong Soo, and he was the one who knew where Yao was. The little whacky frog, explained quickly at Ivan that Yao was about to marry another, and that his memories had been erased, he didn't remember Ivan anymore. Decided to conquer everyone and everything, Ivan ran as fast as he could to the place that little frog at pointed him.

As he arrived, he found Yao on a cage, protected by a big crow. Ivan was fierce and powerful, and so, he fought that crow with all his might. Sounds of swords and screams were all, the little frog Prince could hear, until finally with his last breath Ivan jumped from far cutting the crow in two. The evil was defeated, but what would he do, if Yao didn't remember him anymore?

With his sword and in one swig Ivan opened the cage, holding the little weak frog close to his chest. The little frog Prince could heat the heart beat, so fast and so warm to his body. He knew those hands, he knew that body, he loved that heart beat! Yes, he knew it! Prince Ivan knew exactly what to do, the first wise frog had told him exactly what was needed to reverse the spell. Holding the little frog high, close to his face, Ivan leaded to it, closing his eyes and lovingly kissing the little animal. After a few seconds, the little frog morphed again into that beautiful young man, Ivan had once danced with at a ball, right before his eyes. He had witnessed the true power of love, a spell cast by himself.

Now they were together, and they knew it would be forever. Taking his lover's hand, Ivan took both of them back home in safety. All the other Yao's brothers and sisters, were now too free from the same spell that had tormented them for ages. The little Frog Prince and Prince Ivan would live now happily ever after.


End file.
